Re: [Elecraft] I'm Thrilled with my new K4

[Gary J Ferdinand]

lol He didn’t promise a technical paper, just relating his pleasure with the 
rig.   Happy New Year 

73/Gary W2CS




> On Dec 28, 2021, at 11:05, David Gilbert  wrote:
> 
> 
> "This is the best rig I've ever used"
> 
> That's a bit vague.  Which other rigs are you comparing it to, and what 
> specifically makes the K4 so much better?  I assume you like the ergonomics, 
> but have you also found any performance advantages, and if so what are they?
> 
> Thanks and 73,
> Dave   AB7E
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On 12/28/2021 8:41 AM, k2we via Elecraft wrote:
>> I just had to drop the list a note.. After waiting almost 18 months, my new 
>> K4 arrived last week.. What a great Christmas present!! I've been in the 
>> hobby almost 56 years.. This is the best rig I've ever used.. I'm limited to 
>> a dipole here in sunny Florida after years of a big tower and large 
>> mono-band antennas But.. I gladly give them up for the nice sunny, warm 
>> weather..
>>  All I can say is It was worth the wait.. Best for the New Year.. 73.. 
>> Steve/k2we  Siesta Key, FL K4 #0492
>> 
> 
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Re: [Elecraft] K4 Manual Link Broken?

[Gary J Ferdinand]

THANKS.   Works like a champ.   

73/Gary W2CS



> On May 27, 2021, at 4:07 PM, Brian Broggie  wrote:
> 
> Please try again.
> 
> Our lightning fast web wizard has fixed it.
> 
> Brian Broggie
> K4 Program Manager  at Elecraft, Inc.
> Address  Watsonville, CA  
> Phone  (831) 763-4211  
> Mobile   (831) 601-6983  
> Email  br...@elecraft.com  <mailto:br...@elecraft.com>
> Website  www.elecraft.com  <http://www.elecraft.com/>
> 
> On Thu, May 27, 2021 at 12:13 PM Gary J Ferdinand  <mailto:g...@w2cs.org>> wrote:
> I’m trying to access the “K4 Operating Manual” on the K4 support page on the 
> Elecraft.  I get a page not found.  Is there an alternate link?
> 
> Tnx.
> 
> Gary W2CS
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[Elecraft] K4 Manual Link Broken?

[Gary J Ferdinand]

I’m trying to access the “K4 Operating Manual” on the K4 support page on the 
Elecraft.  I get a page not found.  Is there an alternate link?

Tnx.

Gary W2CS
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Re: [Elecraft] K4 Pricing Posted

[Gary J Ferdinand]

Well, let’s think about this one a bit.  I for one was not disappointed with 
the pricing; I think they did a super job.

I have a K4D on first-group order for $4700.  The new price adds $300.  I’m ok 
with that due to the extreme circumstances involved with getting parts, etc.  
But there’s another way to look at it.

To get a rig from Elecraft pre-K4 such as the K3S, compared with the K4D, you 
would have to add a K3S SUB RX, synthesizer board, at least one CW or narrow 
SSB filter (or both), the I/O board for all the antenna connections, a P3, a P3 
SVGA option, a P3 TX monitor option, a digital voice recorder.  And, I’ve 
probably forgotten a few, such as the K4’s ethernet connection and all that 
implies.  

Throw in the extras offered by the K4D and man this is a great deal.  For 
example the P3 cannot compare with the display on the K4(D).

Throw in performance and it’s even better.  

Enjoy the hobby whatever you choose to get.  Fun is the name of the game.

73,

Gary W2CS



> On Oct 3, 2020, at 12:09 AM, Dave  wrote:
> 
> I was disappointed to see the pricing for the K4. I thought the base K4 would 
> be in or around $3500 to $3700 and perhaps $500 or so to go to the K4D. As it 
> turns out, another $900 for the K4D. These prices do not include the ATU 
> ($400) or even a hand-held Mic. The total for the K4D that I was thinking of 
> purchasing would have been almost $5470. (+shipping ??) it’s out of my price 
> range. It will be interesting to see what the K4HD goes for. I’m glad that I 
> had my $1500 deposit refunded several months ago. I have to wonder if one 
> will really be able to tell the difference between any K4 and the FTDX101D 
> which can be purchased for under $3000 and includes the ATU and a Mic 
> 
> I hope you folks enjoy the K4 as I’m sure it will be a great radio. I will 
> continue to use my K3s as the price for that fine radio is dropping like 
> crazy and has allowed me to pick up a second one for a surprisingly low price.
> 
> 73,
> Dave N8AG
> 
> Sent from Mail for Windows 10
> 
> From: elecraft-requ...@mailman.qth.net
> Sent: Thursday, October 1, 2020 7:20 AM
> To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
> Subject: Elecraft Digest, Vol 198, Issue 1
> 
> S
> 
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Re: [Elecraft] Fixed--P3 Utility Help Please

[Gary J Ferdinand]

Clearly, ignore my last, Hank.  Congrats on the fix.

Gary W2CS



> On Aug 10, 2020, at 4:01 PM, Hank Garretson  wrote:
> 
> Ooops! Another goof.
> 
> Dick, K6KR fixed me up.
> 
> 73,
> 
> Hank, W6SX
> 
> On Mon, Aug 10, 2020 at 12:55 PM Hank Garretson  wrote:
> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Sun, Aug 9, 2020 at 3:55 PM Hank Garretson  wrote:
>> 
>> 
>>> When I click on Configuration Tab, both Save and Restore options are
>>> grayed out.
>>> 
>> 
>> Thanks to help from N6KR, all is good.
>> 
>> I didn't have latest P3 firmware. My goof.
>> 
>> Thanks to everyone else for the suggestions.
>> 
>> 73,
>> 
>> Hank, W6SX
>> 
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Re: [Elecraft] P3 Utility Help Please

[Gary J Ferdinand]

Hank, you probably already did this but if not, uninstall the P3 utility.  
Reboot Windows 10.  Reinstall the P3 utility from the Elecraft site.  Pray.  
Try again.  



73/Gary W2CS



> On Aug 9, 2020, at 11:16 PM, George Thornton 
>  wrote:
> 
> When something strange like this happens another step to try is to refresh 
> the firmware in the radio.
> 
> -Original Message-
> From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net 
>   > On Behalf Of Hank Garretson
> Sent: Sunday, August 9, 2020 8:10 PM
> To: Nr4c mailto:n...@widomaker.com>>
> Cc: Elecraft Reflector  >
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] P3 Utility Help Please
> 
> Thanks Bill. Always a good suggestion, but didn't help.
> 
> Port, Firmware, Command Tester, and Capture Image tabs all work as expected.
> 
> Configuration tab has Save P3 Configuration and Restore P3 Configuration 
> grayed out.
> 
> 73,
> 
> Hank, W6SX
> 
> On Sun, Aug 9, 2020 at 7:16 PM Nr4c  wrote:
> 
>> Might try re-booting your computer.
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> ...nr4c. bill
>> 
>> 
>>> On Aug 9, 2020, at 6:57 PM, Hank Garretson  wrote:
>>> 
>>> Windows 10.
>>> 
>>> P3 Utility Ref 1.16.3.15
>>> 
>>> Connects to my P3 just fine.
>>> 
>>> When I click on Configuration Tab, both Save and Restore options are
>> grayed
>>> out.
>>> 
>>> Help please. What am I doing wrong.
>>> 
>>> Ham, Cope Exuberantly,
>>> 
>>> Hank, W6SX
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[Elecraft] K4 remote

[Gary J Ferdinand]

The doc for the K4 talks about K4:K4 remote or from computers.  Right now I and 
others are using RemoteRig boxes to have K3S:K3S.  Is there a means to do a 
K4:K3(s) using RemoteRig? Or is a K4 required on both ends?  Might you flesh 
out the K4 remote configuration capabilities a bit for us?  Tnx.

73, Gary W2CS

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Re: [Elecraft] KPA-1500 faulting on 6m; SWR issues

[Gary J Ferdinand]

Rule out or in the feed line. Put the amp into a dummy load and see if it 
trips.  Good Luck.

73/Gary W2CS

> On May 31, 2020, at 12:54 PM, Jim Miller  wrote:
> 
> I run 1500w for JT65 EME. No problems. My antenna measures 1.4:1 on the
> KPA1500 swr meter and therefore never engages ATU.
> 
> Have you vetted your feedline at 1500w? Many times something might be good
> at low power and fail at 1500. neither the AA230 or K3s will stress such a
> feedline.
> 
> I believe the AA230 will do TDR. What does that show? Have you inspected
> each connector for corrosion?
> 
> jim ab3cv
> 
> On Sun, May 31, 2020 at 12:47 PM Peter Dougherty  > wrote:
> 
>> Hi all (and sorry about the blank post-I don't know what happened there).
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> I am experiencing a continuing and repeatable problem with my KPA-1500 on
>> 6m. With the amp in bypass I am able to operate normally with my K3s, but
>> the amp's meter is showing a 1.8 to 2:1 SWR on that band, despite
>> measurements on an AA-230 analyzer and the SWR meter on the K3s itself
>> showing it virtually flat (no more than 1.2:1).
>> 
>> Once the amp is placed set to operate it's still showing SWR measurements
>> of
>> 1.8:1 to 2.1:1 consistently when delivering power. If the tuner is bypassed
>> I can't run more than about 600W out before it faults. If I put the tuner
>> in
>> and click it to tune, it will deliver power just fine at 1200 or 1300 Watts
>> for ONE FT8 transmit cycle. When it goes to transmit again it hard-faults
>> with too much reflected power. Using 100W straight from the K3s there is no
>> issue whatsoever, but *any* level of power from the KPA is liable to trip
>> the excess reflected power sensor on the amp.
>> 
>> At first I thought I had an antenna problem, but yesterday I put up a brand
>> new 6m LFA and it's doing the same thing. This coming week I plan to
>> replace
>> the feedline with LMR-400--it's got a combination of 3/8" hardline and
>> RG-213 at the moment. Any thoughts on what might be going on here? Is there
>> a known-issue on 6m with the KPA?
>> 
>> 
>> -
>> 73 and Good DX
>> Peter, W2IRT
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> President, North Jersey DX Association
>> 
>> DXCC Card Checker
>> Letter O Manager, ARRL Incoming 2nd District QSL bureau
>> 
>> 
>> 
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Re: [Elecraft] [K3S] intermittent RF path interruption

[Gary J Ferdinand]

Excellent job, Ben.  Back in NASA Apollo days I recall the honor of 
“steely-eyed missle man” was given to someone who did a superb piece of work.  
You, sir, are a steely-eye ham!  Great doc too.  Thanks for writing it up.

73,  Gary W2CS



> On May 1, 2020, at 1:19 AM, Ben Gelb  wrote:
> 
> And now the exciting conclusion
> 
> I decided the most likely spot for the problem to exist was in the T/R
> switching circuit in the KPA3A. Schematic on pg. 46 of
> https://ftp.elecraft.com/K3S/Manuals%20Downloads/E740323%20K3s%20Schematic%20Files.pdf.
> 
> I removed the KPA3A to take some pictures and figure out how to probe
> some points of interest, then re-installed it, and took following
> measurements:
> 
> Drain of Q4 - 0.25V during RX, 122V during TX
> Drain of Q6 - 13.7V during RX, 0.24V during TX
> 
> ... so far seems reasonable ...
> 
> Measured both sides of L3 and saw 7.42V during RX. Also seems reasonable.
> Then measured both sides of L1 and saw that it appeared to be floating... 
> h.
> 
> L1 and L3 should basically see identical voltages during RX. L1 should
> not be floating. This means that there's no DC voltage being applied
> to D2 or D5 anode. That would mean no connection from antenna input to
> either PA output or RX path. Fits the problem description.
> 
> I took the KPA3A back out again and did some continuity checking.
> Shortly I was able to discover that one of the ends of R5 (facing L1)
> had a failed solder joint to the PCB. When I touched it with the
> probe, the bad end actually came completely free and lifted up off of
> the PCB. After starting at it for another minute, I realized that
> there is a mismatch between the component package size and the
> footprint on the PCB. The pad spacing on the PCB is too narrow, and
> even when perfectly centered, there is almost no overlap of the
> package pins on the resistor and the solder pads that it is supposed
> to attach to. This is also true of R6 and R12 (though they seem to be
> connected, at least for now - though notably R12 has a green wire
> attached to one end).
> 
> This seems like an assembly defect. Doesn't seem very surprising that
> with a poor mechanical connection that the solder joint would not hang
> on. Maybe it can (or already has been in a later run?) be corrected by
> selecting a resistor that has a package that matches the PCB
> footprint? Seems likely to me that more KPA3As out there would fail
> similarly.
> 
> I noted by contrast that R18 uses the same package as the R5, R6 and
> R12 components, but appears to have a PCB footprint that correctly
> aligns with the component.
> 
> Anyhow, I removed R5 and soldered it back on (turning it at a slight
> angle, and borrowing the nearby pad of C17 to ensure it had a good
> solder connection). Now all seems to be well again. Hear lots of
> signals on RX w/ amp inline an make power out on TX. Hooray!
> 
> Here are a few pix of the adventure. Hopefully they might be helpful
> to someone else.
> https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1kP9cR6HbBqP1Xy35QOOd945Bm2KgYW7T
> 
> 73,
> Ben N1VF
> 
> On Thu, Apr 30, 2020 at 8:07 AM Ben Gelb  wrote:
>> 
>> I realized that the "Tune" wattage was set high enough to always
>> switch the PA in, even when the power was dialed down to <12W.
>> 
>> With that corrected, I now see consistent behavior.
>> 
>> When KPA3 gets into "bad" state, I see no power out and hear no signal
>> on receive. Dialing the power down to <12W results in the "clack" of
>> the KPA3 bypass relays and immediately restores operation (albeit at
>> QRP levels). Dialing the power up and down across the 12W mark makes
>> the receive go in and out (no receive w/ KPA3 inline). Turning power
>> on and off does not clear the fault - still persists after it comes
>> back up. It does eventually resolve itself though and operate normally
>> for a while. But have yet to determine a reliable means to "fix" it on
>> demand.
>> 
>> But it is clearly a problem in the KPA3 and not the base K3S, since
>> all is cured once the KPA3 is bypassed.
>> 
>> I have now reproduced this on multiple HF bands as well, so not just a
>> six meter problem.
>> 
>> I started digging into the schematics. T/R circuit in the KPA3 seems
>> like the obvious place to start. Though I can't really see how a
>> single component failure in there would cause what I'm describing (in
>> particular the "memory" effect that causes the problem to manifest for
>> a while and then go away).
>> 
>> I probed the 7T and 7R voltages on connector P68A (easily accessible
>> w/ top lid removed from rig). Looks fine - about 6V on either when in
>> TX or RX, respectively, and ~0.3V when complemented. Also confirmed 5V
>> is present on appropriate pins of P68A and 13.8V is present on P68B.
>> 
>> I'd like to probe further on the PA board (while installed, so can see
>> what is going on), but while there are many exposed vias visible with
>> the K3S lid off, the silkscreen side is not visible when the module is
>> installe

Re: [Elecraft] Windows Update and the K3 USB Audio

[Gary J Ferdinand]

I have had a different experience here.  

Windows 10 Pro is one of the systems I use.  Recently, I discovered that, while 
I was getting the usual windows updates, those updates would cease in 
September.  Upon further reflection it seemed that the base Windows system was 
at a level of March 2018, or in Microsoft-speak, 1803.  I had to force an 
update to 1907, the current base, by going to microsoft.com and following the 
instructions.

All is well and all apps seem to work as well as they did before.  

I did all this because I was uncomfortable having a network-attached Windows 
system without security updates.  YMMV.  

73, Gary W2CS



> On Jul 30, 2019, at 3:02 PM, Andy Durbin  wrote:
> 
> "I hope this may save some others,  some pain during the update process"
> 
> I avoided all the Win 10 pain by not installing it.  I can only assume that 
> those who think Win 10 is wonderful do not use USB audio devices.   it seems 
> that, at least once a week, someone reports having their USB audio 
> configuration trashed by Win 10.
> 
> Andy, k3wyc
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[Elecraft] Fwd: KPA1500 F/W 2.17 Install Hang

[Gary J Ferdinand]

Never mind.  While the reboot of macOS did nothing, cycling the amp off then on 
seems to have gotten by the verification hang.  Firmware installed successfully.

73/Gary W2CS



> Begin forwarded message:
> 
> From: Gary J Ferdinand 
> Subject: [Elecraft] KPA1500 F/W 2.17 Install Hang
> Date: April 3, 2019 at 3:40:29 PM EDT
> To: elecraft 
> 
> Not my first rodeo, but I must have fouled something up.  I have the 2.17 
> folder (containing the .hex and .rtf files) in the local folder for the 
> KPA1500 utility.  The utility says it can talk to the amp.  I tell it to 
> download the files.  I get the usual firmware download window, but it hangs 
> on the “Verifying file “kpa1500fw217.hex” message.  The hang has lasted over 
> 20 minutes now before I did a Force Quit.
> 
> Suggestions?
> 
> 73/Gary W2CS
> 
> 
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[Elecraft] KPA1500 F/W 2.17 Install Hang

[Gary J Ferdinand]

Not my first rodeo, but I must have fouled something up.  I have the 2.17 
folder (containing the .hex and .rtf files) in the local folder for the KPA1500 
utility.  The utility says it can talk to the amp.  I tell it to download the 
files.  I get the usual firmware download window, but it hangs on the 
“Verifying file “kpa1500fw217.hex” message.  The hang has lasted over 20 
minutes now before I did a Force Quit.

Suggestions?

73/Gary W2CS


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Re: [Elecraft] KPA1500 PA Current

[Gary J Ferdinand]

By and large the response to my technical question regarding the behavior of my 
KPA1500 have been good, technical information and hints.  Your posting, Dave, 
is of the form of a lecture and comes across as anything but responsive to the 
topic at hand.  Whether I wish to squeeze the last dB out of my signal or not 
is not yours to comment on.

Please confine your postings to being responsive to the thread.

73,

Gary W2CS



> On Mar 16, 2019, at 5:13 AM, David Wilcox  wrote:
> 
> Try 1000 watts for one month.  Then  500 watts for the next month.  Don’t 
> tell anyone. 
> 
> Unless you are trying to get that last country for your stats you won’t see 
> any difference in your enjoyment and contact ratio.  How often do we turn our 
> receivers, stereos, ovens, microwaves, irons, or even car engines up to their 
> max just “because we can”?  Not trying to start a flame war here but to me it 
> does make sense to give our equipment some breathing room? 
> 
> Yesterday while monitoring a group of guys around Michigan on 75 meters one 
> of them dropped down from his KW to 12 watts and everyone was amazed he was 
> still 20 dB over S9.  They were over 100 miles apart too.
> 
> Many of my friends have over 300 countries or have worked all counties and 
> have never used over 500 watts, mostly 100 watts.
> 
> Yes, it is good to experiment to find out why this is occurring, but after 
> that give your amp some room to breathe.  I watch this list for education and 
> haven’t ever seen a rating of how high the Elecraft 1500 watt amp is tested 
> at, what is its actual max output and for how long.  I would guess that if 
> it’s designed to handle 3000 watts then 1500 watts is conservative and this 
> problem shouldn’t be happening.  If it is tested and burned in at 2000 watts 
> then it is being pushed and heating might be a problem on some amps.  I have 
> watched a few other comments on the Elecraft 100 watt amp and they have 
> troubles getting an actual 100 watts out all the time too.  Rain, ice, and 
> other factors change things too.  Isn’t this hobby fun?
> 
> Just a thought.
> 
> Dave K8WPE
> 
> David J. Wilcox K8WPE’s iPad
> 
>> On Mar 15, 2019, at 9:27 PM, K9MA  wrote: comeer, it’s 
>> possible you have hit just the wrong phase angle.  If your 1.2 SWR resulted 
>> in a load impedance of 42 Ohms, the current could go up 20 percent. On the 
>> other hand, 55 A into 50 Ohms sounds a bit high. Make sure the voltage isn’t 
>> dropping more than a couple Volts.
>> 
>> 73,
>> Scott K9MA 
>> 
>> --
>> 
>> Scott Ellington
>> 
>> --- via iPad
>> 
>>> On Mar 15, 2019, at 1:25 PM, Gary J Ferdinand  wrote:
>>> 
>>> I’m in the process of checking out my amp.  I have two dipoles (40 and 80). 
>>>  At resonance both show a 1.2:1 SWR with ATU totally bypassed.  With ATU 
>>> on, it remains bypassed on 80, but shows only the ATU ON LED on 40.  In 
>>> both cases the resultant SWR is 1.2:1.   SWR measurements are from the 
>>> KPA1500 display.
>>> 
>>> When I use the amp with my K3 and drive it up to 1500W, I am occasionally 
>>> getting an excessive PA current fault at 63A.  From a cold start it’s 60A, 
>>> but as it warms up in contest usage I find the power drops off, so I have 
>>> to adjust the K3 to bring it back up to 1500W.  At that point the PA 
>>> current goes over 60A.
>>> 
>>> Interestingly, into a dummy load the 1500W point shows a PA current of only 
>>> 55A.  So the 1.2:1 SWR, be it via a bypassed ATU or using the ATU, is 
>>> sufficient to raise the PA current eventually to excessive levels.
>>> 
>>> Suggestions?   I don’t want this to be flipping out during a contest.  I 
>>> also don’t want to reduce power into what should be a totally acceptable 
>>> load.
>>> 
>>> 73
>>> 
>>> Gary W2CS
>>> 
>>> 
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>> 
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Re: [Elecraft] KPA1500 PA Current

[Gary J Ferdinand]

This group is outstanding.  Thank you Bob K4TAX for taking what must have been 
a fair amount of time walking thru the consequences of a 40- or 60-Ohm 
mismatch.  That radiation resistance graph you attached is one I have used for 
decades!

Thanks Don W3FPR as well.  There are several connectors in between the amp and 
the dipole’s center insulator.  Since we have had several temperature swings of 
late, I shall firm them up when the rain stops.

I’ll keep plugging.  My KPA500/KAT500 combo had its own set of characteristics 
that I eventually learned, but not a PA current  out of bounds.  That one is 
new.

Thanks everyone else for contributing.

73,

Gary W2CS


> On Mar 15, 2019, at 5:10 PM, Don Wilhelm  wrote:
> 
> Gary,
> 
> Have you considered that there may be something in your antenna system that 
> is heating up or otherwise changing with the 1500 watts power?
> The first thing I would suspect is a balun that is heating, or a connector 
> that is not quite tight enough.
> 
> Those kind of problems will not show up at lower power, but at 1500 watts may 
> become troublesome.
> 
> 73,
> Don W3FPR
> 
> On 3/15/2019 3:25 PM, Gary J Ferdinand wrote:
>> I’m in the process of checking out my amp.  I have two dipoles (40 and 80).  
>> At resonance both show a 1.2:1 SWR with ATU totally bypassed.  With ATU on, 
>> it remains bypassed on 80, but shows only the ATU ON LED on 40.  In both 
>> cases the resultant SWR is 1.2:1.   SWR measurements are from the KPA1500 
>> display.
>> When I use the amp with my K3 and drive it up to 1500W, I am occasionally 
>> getting an excessive PA current fault at 63A.  From a cold start it’s 60A, 
>> but as it warms up in contest usage I find the power drops off, so I have to 
>> adjust the K3 to bring it back up to 1500W.  At that point the PA current 
>> goes over 60A.
>> Interestingly, into a dummy load the 1500W point shows a PA current of only 
>> 55A.  So the 1.2:1 SWR, be it via a bypassed ATU or using the ATU, is 
>> sufficient to raise the PA current eventually to excessive levels.

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[Elecraft] KPA1500 PA Current

[Gary J Ferdinand]

I’m in the process of checking out my amp.  I have two dipoles (40 and 80).  At 
resonance both show a 1.2:1 SWR with ATU totally bypassed.  With ATU on, it 
remains bypassed on 80, but shows only the ATU ON LED on 40.  In both cases the 
resultant SWR is 1.2:1.   SWR measurements are from the KPA1500 display.

When I use the amp with my K3 and drive it up to 1500W, I am occasionally 
getting an excessive PA current fault at 63A.  From a cold start it’s 60A, but 
as it warms up in contest usage I find the power drops off, so I have to adjust 
the K3 to bring it back up to 1500W.  At that point the PA current goes over 
60A.

Interestingly, into a dummy load the 1500W point shows a PA current of only 
55A.  So the 1.2:1 SWR, be it via a bypassed ATU or using the ATU, is 
sufficient to raise the PA current eventually to excessive levels.

Suggestions?   I don’t want this to be flipping out during a contest.  I also 
don’t want to reduce power into what should be a totally acceptable load.

73

Gary W2CS


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[Elecraft] Fwd: P3 SPAN Instability

[Gary J Ferdinand]

> Begin forwarded message:
> 
> From: Gary J Ferdinand 
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] P3 SPAN Instability
> Date: March 10, 2019 at 11:43:06 AM EDT
> To: Victor Rosenthal 4X6GP 
> 
> That was an excellent suggestion!  I hadn’t thought of the factory reset.  I 
> did as you suggested. So far all is well.
> 
> TU / 73
> 
> Gary W2CS
> 
> 
>> On Mar 10, 2019, at 11:06 AM, Victor Rosenthal 4X6GP  
>> wrote:
>> 
>> I had a problem in which both SPAN and CENTER changed arbitrarily (it
>> seemed) on band changes. I finally saved the configuration using the P3
>> Utility, reset the P3 to factory parameters (power off, hold LABELS
>> while powering on, wait for 2 seconds, let go of LABELS), and finally
>> used the utility to restore the configuration.
>> The problem hasn't recurred -- it's been a few weeks and it was pretty
>> much a daily occurrence.
>> YMMV.
>> 
>> 
>> 73,
>> Victor, 4X6GP
>> Rehovot, Israel
>> Formerly K2VCO
>> CWops no. 5
>> http://www.qsl.net/k2vco/
>> 
>> On 10/03/2019 16:51, Gary J Ferdinand wrote:
>>> Various searches dredged up nothing helpful.  I recently developed a
>>> P3 problem.  The SPAN does not get saved.  Whenever I change bands to
>>> a band I had set it, say, to 50 kHz, the SPAN resets itself to 5 kHz.
>>> Sometimes I can even watch the display as it cranks down the
>>> bandwidth.
>>> This is a P3 *without* SVGA, but *with* TXMon.  It has 1.60 firmware
>>> installed and reloaded without effect.  It is not directly connected
>>> to a PC. The transceiver to which it is connected is a K3S.
>>> P3 SPAN settings:  SpanScale: REF LEVEL ONLY, SteppedSpan:  OFF
>>> I appreciate any pointers to where I should look.  Thanks.
>>> 73/Gary W2CS
> 

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[Elecraft] P3 SPAN Instability

[Gary J Ferdinand]

Various searches dredged up nothing helpful.  I recently developed a P3 
problem.  The SPAN does not get saved.  Whenever I change bands to a band I had 
set it, say, to 50 kHz, the SPAN resets itself to 5 kHz.  Sometimes I can even 
watch the display as it cranks down the bandwidth.

This is a P3 *without* SVGA, but *with* TXMon.  It has 1.60 firmware installed 
and reloaded without effect.  It is not directly connected to a PC. The 
transceiver to which it is connected is a K3S.

P3 SPAN settings:  SpanScale: REF LEVEL ONLY, SteppedSpan:  OFF

I appreciate any pointers to where I should look.  Thanks.

73/Gary W2CS

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